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In a heavily guarded room, the Third Hokage looked at Itachi with shock.
"What? Orochimaru plans to invade Konoha soon? Are you certain, Itachi?"
Itachi nodded. "Lord Third, I am certain."
Just as Kagaya had anticipated, even when informing the Third, Itachi deliberately concealed Kagaya's involvement, ensuring Kagaya wouldn't be placed in danger.
The Third Hokage furrowed his brow and began pacing back and forth in the room.
"Orochimaru... Orochimaru... Orochimaru... What is his reason? What reason does he have to invade Konoha?"
Itachi shook his head. "I don't know. The intelligence I received only extends that far. Please be cautious, Lord Third."
The Third sighed helplessly.
"I understand. You should go now."
The Third knew Itachi couldn't stay long. If discovered, Itachi would be in a difficult position.
"Yes"
Itachi vanished.
In the afternoon, within the temporary accommodations Konoha provided for the examinees, Kagaya gazed out the window at the slowly setting sun. Itachi had not come to find him.
At this moment, Kagaya felt calm, without any emotional fluctuations. This was an outcome he had long considered highly probable.
If it were a minor mishap, it might be different. But this operation involved Orochimaru, himself, Uchiha Kagaya, and had the backing of the Akatsuki organization. With such powerful forces combined against Konoha, it was entirely possible to deal a severe blow to the current Konoha, crippling it, causing immense damage, or even destroying it altogether.
Faced with such a significant threat, Itachi certainly wouldn't sit idle. Informing the Third was an entirely predictable move.
So...
'How much did you tell the Third, Itachi?'
Kagaya smiled slightly. Since he had anticipated the possibility of Itachi leaking information, he naturally wouldn't just wait passively. As mentioned earlier, Kagaya had met with Orochimaru in Konoha once. That meeting, where they legitimized his identity as an Otogakure genin, wasn't the primary goal.
The primary goal was—to change the plan!
In the original plan, the action was scheduled for the third exam, approximately a month later. By then, the Third Hokage would be present publicly. Orochimaru would strike first at that time, engaging the Third.
Itachi certainly wouldn't know that Orochimaru was impersonating the Fourth Kazekage. However, if the Third knew someone planned to invade Konoha in the near future, he would undoubtedly strengthen security for the Chūnin Exams. In that scenario, Orochimaru launching a direct attack at the exam venue would be extremely unwise.
Therefore, Kagaya and Orochimaru had discussed it: when the time came, the one to strike first wouldn't be Orochimaru, but Kagaya!
Why? Because Kagaya was gambling. Gambling that the Third would inform Danzō about the impending attack on Konoha. For Danzō, this would be excellent news. Knowing such information, Danzō would certainly secretly gather personnel for defense and might even expose himself. This would save Kagaya a great deal of trouble.
Because Kagaya believed that to protect him, Itachi wouldn't expose Kagaya's existence to the Third.
Thus, the situation changed. In Kagaya and Orochimaru's original plan, after action commenced, Kagaya and his group would be in the open, while Danzō would be in the shadows, making him difficult for Kagaya to locate.
But Itachi's act of leaking information was something Kagaya could exploit. Using this information, he could force Danzō from the shadows into the open. Then, Kagaya would be in the shadows, and Danzō would be exposed.
Itachi's leak of information forced Orochimaru, the Third, and Danzō into the open. Only Kagaya remained hidden in the shadows; no one in Konoha knew of his presence.
If Kagaya's group proceeded according to the original plan, Konoha, with its enhanced defenses, would be difficult to overcome. But since Kagaya anticipated Itachi's leak, he could adapt accordingly, having Orochimaru remain inactive. Then, Kagaya—the hidden player—could take advantage of Konoha's diverted attention to deliver a devastating blow, such as suddenly assassinating Danzō or severely injuring him. In that situation, Orochimaru's subsequent action would be much more effective.
However, all this hinged on the premise that Itachi hadn't exposed Kagaya. If Itachi had betrayed Kagaya as well, then the battle would indeed become extremely difficult. Even Sunagakure wouldn't support them because once Konoha exposed Kagaya and Orochimaru's identities, Suna would have no reason to assist them in invading Konoha.
Kagaya looked at the setting sun on the horizon. He was gambling. From the moment he entered Konoha, he had been gambling—gambling that Itachi would leak information to Konoha but wouldn't betray him. If he won this gamble, everything would be fine. If he lost, it wouldn't mean total failure, but the difficulty of killing Danzō would undoubtedly increase significantly.
"Will I win? Or will you win, Itachi?"
Kagaya closed the window and resumed his training.
In this turmoil, Itachi wanted to protect Konoha, while Kagaya wanted to destroy it. The two would undoubtedly engage in a continuous, covert game to achieve their respective goals.
What Kagaya didn't know was that in this chess game, there was another player he was unaware of.
Kisame looked at Obito before him, reporting everything he had experienced during this period.
Obito slightly frowned. "So both of them have entered Konoha."
Kisame nodded. "Yes"
Obito narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Kisame had previously received orders from Obito to monitor Itachi. Among the Akatsuki members, aside from Obito and Zetsu, Kisame was the only one who genuinely believed in The Eye of the Moon Plan. Such a person naturally wouldn't betray Obito, so Obito assigned Kisame to monitor Itachi. Initially, Obito considered having Kisame monitor Kagaya, but after careful thought, he assigned him to Itachi instead.
For this invasion of Konoha, Obito planned to participate secretly, with Kisame as his eyes on the ground.
However, while Obito intended to participate, he only planned to do one thing: simply break the Nine-Tails' seal or cause it to rampage!
'Kagaya entering Konoha is likely to rendezvous with Orochimaru or to avoid Itachi. As for Itachi entering Konoha...'
Obito quickly figured everything out. He then smiled slightly and addressed Kisame.
"Continue monitoring Itachi."
Kisame grinned.
"Understood."
After speaking, Obito vanished in a swirl.
Presumably, by now, Konoha was aware of Orochimaru's impending invasion. They would undoubtedly focus their defenses on Orochimaru and his associates. In that case...
'In that case, probably few will pay attention to the Jinchūriki, right? Heh.'
After Obito left, Kisame looked in the direction Itachi had departed, frowning slightly.
"Itachi-san..."
After several years of companionship, Kisame genuinely held feelings for Itachi. However, he also sincerely believed in The Eye of the Moon Plan, so he followed Obito's orders.
This resulted in the current situation of betraying Itachi, which made Kisame somewhat uncomfortable. But when Obito personally came to inquire, he couldn't bring himself to conceal the truth.